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  • Michel Cusson...'Life In A Grain Of Sand'......

    ......or there's this....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6-h6PYRqGE

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    • I fell asleep during the first 5 minutes of the last one......

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      • Shreddies....

        Glad you enjoyed the first two clips Brian,,,...and after all that excitement I thought you'd need something to chill out and relax too....

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        • I have given up on the guitar Brian , had the Bert Weedon book play in a day? and that was 40 years ago and still can only do a few cords, need a 1 to 1 instruction then i may achieve it before i kick up the daisys !!

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          • What's in a name?

            We all had that book, Dick. Wasn't much else available in Bert Weedon's day (more like 60 years ago, in my case).

            There is so much more available today, a lot of it on "one-to-one" instructional DVD's, which is precisely the direction in which I am referring Colin.

            There is hope, and so much to gain before we contemplate popping our clogs ............ ?

            What is it about the name Bert, by the way, which seems to have caught our respective imaginations in two quite diverse fields of endeavour?

            JR
            Last edited by johnrunnacles; 13/11/2016, 10:23 PM. Reason: Deletion of superfluous words

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            • 1960 Gibson SG Junior - Update.

              Here's a quick update for those who have expressed an interest in my current little project....

              Making the scratch plate.

              Pic 1. Using the original abomination (see pic 5....) as a template, I marked out the overall shape onto my sheet of tortoiseshell laminate (not real tortoiseshell....!! I was going to use real emu feathers and bone, but Boris gave me one of those looks and I thought better of it....) then added my own measurements for the bridge posts and pick up cut-outs etc. Then I cut it out with my trusty Dremel and an excellent new bit (561) I bought for the job. It's a side cutter a bit like a drill bit, and it worked beautifully...very accurate and in lots of ways easier than using a jigsaw. Next, I carefully (VERY carefully!) Dremelled it as close to the line as I dared with a small drum sander, also for the pickup cutout.

              Pic 2. Final shaping was done with a large flat file to get it down to the line.

              Pic 3. Having drilled holes for the pickup mounting ring, coil-tap switch and finished the pickup cut-out, radiusing the corners with a round file, I finished off the holes for the bridge posts by taking them out to size with a tapered reamer by hand. It left such a good finish I only need to touch them up a bit with a round file. Then it was the 'big reveal', and off with the masking tape I'd covered the sheet with to mark it out. The protective plastic layer peeled off easily with the masking tape, and that lovely brown tort was revealed in all it's mother of toilet seat glory.....!

              Pic 4. This next bit is a work in progress, one of my last tricky jobs. I need to bevel the edges to 30 degrees (vintage spec....'modern' is 45 degrees and isn't as nice to my eye) without ruining the shape, and bear in mind the sheet is only 2.5mm thick. I'm doing it by hand with a stanley blade, and made up a simple gauge from card to check progress. All edges will be beveled apart from the flat edge at the top where it meets the neck/fretboard. I'm really looking forward to doing the insides of the 'horns'..... Incidently, this pic shows the colour much better. Gotta say I think it looks really nice against the natural mahogany finish.

              Pic 5. This is what it's replacing.......uuuuggghhhhh!!!!! About the only good thing about it was the overall shape.....if I had made this it would have gone in the bin....what where they thinking?

              I've done a fair bit more as well as this, and the end is finally in sight. I'll post more pics and an update in due course. Hope some of you enjoy seeing these pics and find something of interest.....

              Brian.
              Attached Files
              Last edited by Brian Thompson; 21/11/2016, 01:59 PM. Reason: Pics attached.

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              • Top job mate......really worthwhile, with what will be a superb finish........
                and you have the skill to play it....... dammed unfair......
                You say, the tortoiseshell was from a toilet seat? well i hope you are going to carry on the theme & have a nice chrome roll holder up at the neck end.....
                Keep it up maestro & post more pics as & when, as its nice to see what people have made, rather than just bought one.........

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                • Superb piece of work, Brian. A work of love, no less!
                  And you couldn't buy one like it, Dave. They don't make 'em like that, and certainly not by hand, nowadays.
                  Very well done, that man! Keep us posted ..........
                  JR
                  PS Some sort of progress made with the Harmony bridge mod, thanks to George for pointing me in the right direction. Kit when fitted pulled the belly and the potential string height down to a 4mm action at the 12th fret. Under tension of the tuned strings this became 5mm, so barely playable. Looking now to see what I can do about pulling the neck back a bit ............ which is going to be a bit of a job with a snapped-off truss rod ............ not my doing, I hasten to add!
                  Last edited by johnrunnacles; 20/11/2016, 12:03 PM.

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                  • Bog Standard...!

                    Originally posted by dave higgins View Post
                    Top job mate......really worthwhile, with what will be a superb finish........
                    and you have the skill to play it....... dammed unfair......
                    You say, the tortoiseshell was from a toilet seat? well i hope you are going to carry on the theme & have a nice chrome roll holder up at the neck end.....
                    Keep it up maestro & post more pics as & when, as its nice to see what people have made, rather than just bought one.........
                    Thanks so much Dave. As I've said before, coming from you that means a lot to me. Can't wait to show you the finished guitar!

                    Rest assured mate, the important parts are well in hand, and I've just got to decide on which holder looks best....the paper is sorted though....!!

                    Brian.
                    Attached Files
                    Last edited by Brian Thompson; 20/11/2016, 03:58 PM. Reason: Pics added.

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                    • Snapped truss rod.....

                      Originally posted by johnrunnacles View Post
                      Superb piece of work, Brian. A work of love, no less!
                      And you couldn't buy one like it, Dave. They don't make 'em like that, and certainly not by hand, nowadays.
                      Very well done, that man! Keep us posted ..........
                      JR
                      PS Some sort of progress made with the Harmony bridge mod, thanks to George for pointing me in the right direction. Kit when fitted pulled the belly and the potential string height down to a 4mm action at the 12th fret. Under tension of the tuned strings this became 5mm, so barely playable. Looking now to see what I can do about pulling the neck back a bit ............ which is going to be a bit of a job with a snapped-off truss rod ............ not my doing, I hasten to add!
                      Hi John,

                      Likewise, many thanks for your kind words. I knew you'd 'get' the hand made thing, something that's very important to me, especially with this project....just like they did it in the old days at Kalamzoo. Speaking of the old Gibson factory, an interesting aside with my SG Junior is that I managed to date it to 1960 from the serial number, and as 1961 was the first year of 'official' production I've often wondered if it may be one of the very early ones....

                      Re your Harmony, it appears to me that someone in the guitar's past over-tightened the truss rod which caused it to break (lefty loosy, righty tighty, as well we know, but not them it would seem...), not uncommon though, sadly....

                      Great that the kit did it's job though (from the sound of things), and I wonder if, as you say, the problem now rests with the snapped truss rod....It sounds to me that the string tension is pulling the neck up from where the break is. As such, it may be a case of having to fit a new one, after the old one has been extracted.....eeek! Not impossible though (specialist tools are available, at a price...), but (possibly) a heck of a job....Worst case senario would be removal of the fretboard to get at it, I reckon, then a new fretboard fitted. An old friend and a superb engineer/luthier/guitarist (Bob Dayfield) did exactly this to a mutual friends much cherished old Epiphone acoustic, and you honestly couldn't tell where he'd been afterwards, just a lovely new peice of wood and perfectly finished fretwork and a lovely set-up....very classy job, I was blown away (we all were)!!

                      See what George reckons, if you can, as I beleive he more than has the skills for such a task from what we've seen, if he can fit you in somewhere and funds permit of course....

                      Good luck with it mate, and likewise, keep us posted on progress.

                      Brian.
                      Last edited by Brian Thompson; 21/11/2016, 02:02 PM.

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                      • Thanks for sterling advice (as ever) Brian.

                        I had already checked this out with George, and accepted his similar expert opinion that it would not be a cost-effective exercise to extract and replace an old truss rod, except perhaps on a premium quality instrument (Martin or Gibson, perhaps).

                        Haven't given up (yet) though. Still scratching my head ............. will let you know if it does any good.

                        Meanwhile, best of luck yourself with finishing that tasty-looking project.

                        JR

                        PS It would be a shame to use that paper roll for its intended purpose!

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                        • Gibson SG Junior....another update.

                          Here you go then guys, a few more pics for you to see.

                          I made some significant progress today and finished beveling the scratch plate, which I have to say is a bit of a relief....!! I'm just glad I didn't turn it into twelve quids worth of plastic shavings.... As expected, the two top inner 'horns' were very tricky to get right, but patience and care won the day and when I offered it up to the guitar all the thought, effort and time that went into it was forgotten....it looks better than I could ever have hoped....chuffed to flippin' bits!!!

                          I'll upload a couple of other elements of the job for you to see as well....

                          Pics 1 and 2. Scratch plate finished...just needs mounting screw holes marking-out, drilling and countersinking, and a polish!

                          Pic 3. The Truss Rod Cover, in situ. This is the small plastic cover plate that gives access to the truss rod nut, a simple threaded rod that sits in a channel set into the neck and which provides an adjustable counter-force to the tension the strings put on the neck when they are tuned to pitch.

                          Back when I first got the guitar, this was one of the early repairs I did at the time. The bottom screw hole mounting area had broken off completely (some muppet overtightening the screw no doubt....) and was missing. My solution was to find a suitable small washer, and heat it very carefully just enough to melt the plastic and create a 'ledge' on the back to site it on. I then superglued it in place and built up the front area with some kind of fiberglass resin (whatever I had to hand at the time...can't remember now!) using the washer as a base. Once set, I shaped it with files and fine grit emery and then dabbed a bit of gloss black Humbrol enamel paint on it.

                          This time around, I decided I wanted to improve the overall finish, so I stripped off the old paint with a scraper and resrayed the whole thing properly, first matt black as a primer, then a thin coat of gloss black acrylic. Once dry, I took the shine off it with some fine cutting compound to restore the 'aged' look, and some nice new nickel plated screws ('specials', just like Greeves tank badge screws...! ) to finish it off.

                          Pic 4 shows the washer glued to the back (!), and pic 5 the finished job.

                          If you think original 60's Greeves spares prices are expensive, check this out.....







                          This is the version of the TRC that Gibson went to in early 1965 and stuck with thoughout the rest of the decade. Basically correct for any 1965-1969 Gibson electric OR acoustic.



                          Now you can appreciate why I wanted to save this original part, apart from the obvious reasons..... Incidently, note that it's shaped like a 'bell', a traditional Gibson feature that is still carried on with many models today.

                          Brian.
                          Attached Files
                          Last edited by Brian Thompson; 20/11/2016, 08:55 PM. Reason: Pics attached.

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                          • Gibson SG Junior....Headstock finished.

                            Following on from the truss rod cover, I also spent some time carefully sanding the headstock face to try and get an improvement. Pics 1 and 2 below show 'before and after', and I'm pleased with it in the sense that it's a lot 'tidier' but still retains the 'patina' I was after. I had to go very carefully though, so as not to go too far and 'uncover' the Gibson transfer....another big relief when that bit was done and dusted with!!

                            I also removed the (excellent) old Gotoh chrome machine heads I originally fitted back when I first rescued the guitar all those years ago, and replaced them with some 'proper' SG type Schaller 'Kluson' replica nickel plated/mint green 'tulip head' button ones....much better, great quality, and makes the guitar a lot less neck-heavy (as the original design intended!) Even better, a mate at work bought the Gotohs off me for a Les Paul project he's currently working on (£20) so they only really cost me around £16 off eBay! Result!! All I needed to do to fit them was carefully ream out the holes for the posts in the headstock as these are slightly wider OD and fill the old mounting holes on the back and drill some new ones. Very pleased with them, and they look much more 'correct' for the guitar.

                            Brian.
                            Attached Files
                            Last edited by Brian Thompson; 20/11/2016, 07:42 PM. Reason: Pics attached.

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                            • Love the SG Junior. Singer in the band I was in had a 1967 one. I did some recording with him a few years back and used the SG on some tracks. So easy to get a great rock sound with it, going through a Marshall amp with 4x12 cab. Thinking of getting a kit guitar based on the SG next year to accompany my Strat and Shergold doubleneck guitars...

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                              • The clue is in the username....!!

                                Welcome to Twanger's Corner FBMan! Great to have you join in with us!!

                                Completely agree on the Junior.....they are beasts!!

                                Got any pics of your guitars (and stories!) you fancy sharing with us twangers on here?

                                The more the merrier!

                                Brian.

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